05/09/2026
Nepal Floods: Death Toll Rises To 1,344, Over 5,083 Still Missing As Rescue Enters Day 10
Kathmandu: Sept 5, 2026
Nepal's flash flood death toll has climbed to 1,344 on Saturday, September 5, with 5,083 people still missing nine days after the disaster, the Nepal Police and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) confirmed in a joint update. The number of missing includes 583 foreigners, mostly trekkers and pilgrims on the Tibet-Nepal border, and around 600 school children from Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.
The floods were triggered on August 26 by an ice-rock avalanche after a glacier fractured at 5,200 metres on Mount Langtang Lirung near the Nepal-Tibet border. The avalanche turned into a massive debris flow that swept through valleys along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, wiping out entire settlements, six hydropower projects, and vital trade crossings including Gyirong-Rasuwa port.
According to Nepal Police data, district-wise recovery includes 359 bodies from Chitwan, 218 from Nawalparasi East, 208 from Nawalparasi West, 185 from Nuwakot, 140 from Rasuwa, 72 from Gorkha, 60 from Dhading and 38 from Tanahu. At least 17 more bodies were pulled from rivers in India, believed to have floated downstream from Nepal. More than 800 foreigners remain unaccounted for, according to latest data.
Rescue operations have been most dramatic at hydropower tunnels. On September 4, Nepal Army with Indian NDRF teams rescued two workers alive from the buried Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project tunnel after being trapped for nine days. Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet said excavation is still underway as around 100 hydropower workers are still feared trapped inside tunnels of Trishuli 3A, 3B and other projects, with water seeping hampering rescue shafts.
The second crisis unfolding is public health. The Kathmandu Post reported that five of the 15 drinking water sources in flood-hit Bidur were contaminated with E. coli. Officials are now planning cholera vaccination for around 1,00,000 vulnerable people living in shelters and measles vaccination for more than 75,000 children. Public health experts warned of increased risk of communicable, vector-borne and non-communicable diseases, especially among young children and elderly.
The Government of Nepal has announced emergency cash support. NDRRMA allocated NPR 10 million each to Rasuwa and Nuwakot, NPR 5 million to Dhading, and NPR 135 million among 15 local governments. The Nepal Cabinet said this is only the first phase of a recovery package that could run into billions of dollars, as over 200 roads, 35 bridges and 12 water systems have been destroyed.
Foreign relief has been critical to sustain operations. India was the first responder, sending five Indian Air Force flights with over 80 tonnes of relief including tents, water purifiers, medicines and boats, plus two C-130J aircrafts with 21.5 tonnes of additional aid including forensic kits. Indian Ambassador Naveen Srivastava said a 19-member Indian forensic team and specialised tunnel rescue contingents are working jointly with Nepal Army.
Other international aid includes the United States, where a group of lawmakers urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to deploy a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and increase humanitarian aid. China sent excavators and bridge equipment via Tatopani, reporting 21 deaths and 541 missing on its Tibet side, taking the combined Nepal-Tibet toll to 1,318 dead and 5,614 missing. The UN OCHA released USD 5 million, UNICEF shipped purification tablets for 2 lakh people, while Bhutan and Bangladesh sent medical teams. 5539
The search for missing children remains the most painful. Education Development and Coordination Units estimate 280 children missing in Rasuwa and 300-350 in Nuwakot, with 250 untraced in Bidur Municipality alone which has 170 schools. Ministry of Education said 22 schools were impacted, 12 completely destroyed, and 22 teachers remain missing. Distraught relatives have pasted photographs of missing persons outside Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu.
With the Department of Hydrology warning of more rain in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces and possible rise in Bhote Koshi and Trishuli water levels, authorities have issued an orange alert. Over 21,000 security personnel have rescued 11,993 people so far, but with 5,083 still missing, the joint Nepal-India rescue teams say the next 48 hours are decisive to prevent the disaster from turning into a prolonged humanitarian crisis. 5539
